Transition in Iraq
Transition in Iraq
Withdrawing the BCTs
by Colonel Robert Killebrew, Small Wars Journal Op-Ed
Transition in Iraq: Withdrawing the BCTs (Full PDF Article)
A meeting with the JCS is the first item on President Obama’s agenda after he takes office on 20 January. As reported in the national press, he intends to fulfill his campaign promise of withdrawing all remaining Brigade Combat Teams in Iraq within the next 16 months.
Assuming the present state of affairs in Iraq continues, getting the combat brigades out in 16 months should be a doable objective that American military leaders can wholeheartedly support. The reduction in violence, the progress of the Iraqi army, and the shaky but generally positive direction of the Iraqi government all seem to indicate that in a year or more the U.S. and allied contribution can have become mainly — though not exclusively — to support Iraqi security forces. This is not, however, “endex” in Iraq, and we can still lose this war if we fail to make a satisfactory transition from warfighters to supporters.
Our basic objectives in Iraq under an Obama Administration will almost surely remain what they have been under President Bush’s; a generally democratic and secular Iraq, a U.S. ally at peace with its neighbors, and a bulwark against Iranian aggression at the head of the Persian Gulf. Whether those objectives, all or in part, are achieved depends on how we handle the transition from combat to support of the Iraqi government and its security forces.
